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6/21/2012

Learning to Manage a Weakness

I'm a pretty observational guy. Like Monk, sometimes it's a gift and sometimes it's a curse. The gift part of it is that I'm usually self aware enough to notice when something's off in me.

For instance, I noticed quite a while ago that I'm impulsive. And this character trait bleeds into almost all areas of my life. Everything from grocery shopping to relationships to time management. It's easy to see how this can be a weakness. In fact, McGill touched on this a little in a great little blog post. But, part of the joy in getting older (or "growing up" if you don't like to think about age), is that you learn more about yourself. You learn more about how you are you.

Is it possible to use something that you've discovered in yourself to be a potential "weakness" to your advantage?

That's exactly what I've learned how to do. And here's how...I've learned that it's not just "bad" things that I'm impulsive about, but good and productive things as well. The trick is learning to discern between the two, and act on the right impulses.

For instance, if I'm in my office and have an impulse to surf around on pinterest, it's probably not something good to follow through on, because it will be an unwise use of my time at work. But, if I get the impulse to write some cards to my student worship leaders to encourage them, I should grab hold of that feeling and go for it. Encouragement is an investment in people, so it's a wise use of my time.

Full disclosure: I had the idea about the cards on Monday, and didn't follow through. So they're still sitting on my desk. I made a mistake! I didn't follow the right impulse!

I'm still learning how to follow the right impulses in my life. It's a weakness that I'm learning how to use as a strength. Because, when I get inspired (when a good impulse strikes), if I harness it and ride it out, I feel like I can complete the activity with more energy and excitement than usual.